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Ivanka Trump said she believes President Donald Trump’s denials of sexual misconduct and dismissed an interviewer’s question on the topic as “inappropriate”, provoking the wrath of online activists who accused her of dodging tough issues and of selling out women.

Her comments came during a wide-ranging interview with NBC broadcast during her visit to South Korea, where she had travelled as the head of the US delegation attending the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Asked about the allegations of inappropriate behaviour against the president, Ms Trump said: "I think it's a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he's affirmatively stated there's no truth to it.”

Ms Trump has positioned herself as a supporter of women’s issues in the White House and has tweeted her support of the #TimesUp movement which seeks to end harassment and abuse in both the workplace and in public life.

However, at times her stance has prompted accusations of hypocrisy given some of President Donald Trump’s public comments about women.

During the interview she said it was unfair to ask her about the allegations against her father.

“I don’t think that’s a question you would ask many other daughters,” she said.

“I believe my father. I know my father. So, I think I have that right as a daughter to believe my father.”

Katherine Jellison, who heads the history department at Ohio University, said she was trying to have it both ways.

“You're either a senior adviser or a daughter. She's in this unique position that she's still trying to work out," said Ms Jellison, an expert on first families.

"Especially since she was last in the news as a senior adviser going to the Olympics.”

The White House went out of its way to make clear that Ivanka Trump traveled to South Korea as a senior adviser to the president, not a First Daughter. But as soon as she’s hit with a difficult question, suddenly she’s a daughter. https://t.co/yxn44dbDDK